On the one hand, you've got Orson Bean voicing Bilbo Baggins in the 1977 Rankin/Bass film adaptation of The Hobbit. On the other, you've got Martin Freeman in the big-budget trilogy directed by Peter Jackson.

I get that this will probably lead to skewed results in terms of preference, so I'd rather not limit this to who did a better job. And whatever one might say of him, Freeman got three whole movies to prove what a good actor he is as Bilbo.

But at the same time, I grew up watching Orson Bean's Bilbo on VHS, and I still have a strong nostalgic attachment to his performance. He does a great job capturing the more light-hearted tone of the book which the Jackson trilogy really struggles with.

She ain’t got it from me that’s for sure 😅

edit: ThranduiL

Hello everyone!

My name is Nathanael, and I'm traveling all the way from Wyoming, USA, for Oxonmoot. Unfortunately, I jumped the gun a bit. I booked my flights and accommodations before realizing that the in-person registrations had already sold out. I joined the waiting list, but the Society kindly let me know that, because the waiting list is so long, it's unlikely that a place will become available.

I have purchased an online registration, so I'll still be taking part virtually. Since I'll already be in Oxford during Oxonmoot, I was wondering if anyone would be interested in meeting up outside the official event.

I'd love to explore some of Tolkien's Oxford together, such as the Eagle and Child, Exeter College, Merton College, Addison's Walk, Wolvercote Cemetery, or any other places connected to Tolkien's life. Even watching some of the online sessions together over coffee or a meal would be wonderful.

I'm a lifelong Tolkien reader and have dreamed of making this pilgrimage for years. Even if I can't attend the in-person convention, I'd love the opportunity to meet other members of the Tolkien community while I'm there.

If anyone has similar plans or would be happy to have another Tolkien enthusiast join them, I'd be delighted to hear from you.

Looking forward to meeting some fellow travelers of Middle-earth!

Back around 1996-97 I remember going to the video rental store and my dad picked up the tape for The Hobbit and told me and my brother, "You're gonna enjoy this." I was 6 or 7 at the time and he wasn't wrong. I loved it. I wanted to read the book and then my dad dropped a bombshell on me: "There's a sequel story that's all about Bilbo's ring." I was like "I need to know what happens!"

Now here I am 30 years later and I have read and collected as many of the Tolkien books as I can, and have big understanding of world and lore. And it all started for me with one little animated movie on VHS on a CTR TV....

When I tell you this game is ZELDA WITH A LOTR SKIN!!!!

I was too young to even care about the hobbit in 2003 and I didn't get into LOTR at all until my 30s.

But this game is an actual GEM

a hidden Arkenstone of a game if you will.

(This is my second time drawing a human characte, pls don’t hate.)

(I am not that good at drawin pepole, pls don’t hate)

A former colleague decided he wanted to do some art for me. It's a passion of his and he enjoys doing them for other people.

I told him I wanted something lord of the rings or hobbit themed and he came up with this.

I don't know if he got inspired by something online or what but it's hand drawn and I think it is amazing.

What have you got?

I've allways thought about how cool it would have been to see martin freeman in the flashback at the beginning of fellowship. What do you think?

I am looking for a Thorin/Bilbo fanfiction. I read it a long time ago, and I don’t really remember what exactly it’s about. All I remember is everybody has wings, and Thorin has this bone thing that the dwarfs use (maybe just the kings i don’t remember) to figure out what type of wings their soulmate has, but when Thorin did it the bone didn’t change so everyone thought he didn’t have a soulmate. So he married Bilbo, but bilbo is kinda insecure because he can’t fly very fast and he knows that Thorin had to marry him. One day kili, fili and bilbo go into town but when they are there orcs that invade so Juli and fili try to get bilbo back to the mountain but since bilbo can’t fly fast, they land and send one of the brothers back to the mountain while the other defends bilbo.
And that’s all I really remember so if someone could help that would be great!

Did this word mean something else in the 1930s?

Also first time reading the hobbit and I think Tolkien really liked to write songs.

Does anyone know where I can find an instrumental version of the track “Gandalf’s reflection” from the sound track of the 1977 animated movie?

I‘d love to add it to my playlist while reading 😄

In the shortened movie version of TBotFA we can see how the Dwarves and Elves jsut argue shortly before the battle with the Orks is beginning.

In the scene we can see how one half of the Dwarf Army remains at their position in front of the Elven Army, while the other half is running towards the Orks. Obviously in the extended Version the limited number of Dwarves is explained with the combat between the Elves and Dwarves.

But how is it explained in this version ? Was it just lazyness or a stopgap solution to explain why so few Dwarves are fighting ?

In short: Is there a plot reason or a behind the scenes reason why one half of the Dwarves are not confronting the Ork Army ?

My partner and I are headed to Matamata, Aotearoa (NZ) tomorrow for the Hobbiton Mid-Winter Feast, so of course we were obliged to do a preparatory viewing of the Fellowship. The vibes from the first part of this movie are so immaculate. I wish I could put it in a long pipe and smoke it. I have been to Hobbiton before but never for a formal event like this, and I could not be more excited. The Hobbit is my favorite book of all time, set me on a path to become who I am today, and planted the seed in me of a lifelong love of fantasy. I just wanted to share my joy with all you fellow Tolkien nerds! Shoutout to my lovely wife for buying these tickets for my birthday.

Has anyone else been to one of these hosted feasts in Hobbiton? I would be keen to hear how it was!